WHEREAS Virginia has been rated the worst state for worker rights two years in a row by Oxfam; and
WHEREAS income inequality has been increasing dramatically in Virginia and nationwide; and
WHEREAS “right to work” makes it harder for workers to join together to improve their pay and working conditions; and
WHEREAS Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, such as ‘right to work.’ It is a law to rob us of our civil rights and job rights. Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining by which unions have improved wages and working conditions of everyone;” and
WHEREAS unions raise wages of unionized workers by roughly 20% and increase total compensation including benefits such as paid sick leave and paid family and medical leave, by about 28% while reducing the gender and racial pay gap; and
WHEREAS in “right to work” states, annual wages are $1,558 less on average than in
non “right to work” states, with lower health benefits and pensions and less safety on the job; and
WHEREAS the so-called “right to work” law does not give anyone the right to a job, but instead, in effect, reduces wages, health care, retirement security, and on-the-job safety for all workers; and
WHEREAS repealing the “right to work” from the Virginia Code would allow Virginia workers to organize for better working conditions and family-sustaining wages; and
WHEREAS one of the core values of the Democratic Party is to support worker rights, particularly the right to join and form unions;
WHEREAS repeal of the anti-worker “right to work” law is the best way to send the message that Democrats support economic justice for working people;
Therefore BE IT RESOLVED that: The Clarke County Democratic Committee asks the VA General Assembly to repeal the misnamed so-called “right to work” law in the 2020 legislative session.
Sources: https://policy-practice.oxfamamerica.org/work/poverty-in-the-us/best-states-to-work https://www.npr.org/2019/09/26/764654623/u-s-income-inequality-worsens-widening-to-a-new- gap
https://www.afscme.org/now/the-racist-roots-of-right-to-work https://www.epi.org/blog/unions-help-narrow-the-gender-wage-gap/ https://www.epi.org/publication/martin_luther_king_on_right_to_work/ https://thinkprogress.org/how-union-membership-benefits-african-american-and-latino-workers- 440ce0b8215a
Adopted on February 4, 2020 by the Clarke County Democratic Committee.